2002 SG with Moon inlays??

[santacruzom]

Hi guys,

 

There's a 2002 SG for sale on the local craigslist that has crescent moon inlays on the fretboard. Is this part of the faded series? If so, what's the general opinion of these guitars? I'm not familiar with them. The seller hasn't listed a price - instead he's looking for offers. Thanks.

 

Santa

[Everdying]

yea, those were the first fadeds.

also with ebony fretboards.

 

the price isnt too different from what current used fadeds are going for.

[ALIEN8]

That depends, some say that version will be one of the collectibles. I personally would love one with the moon inlays, but alas, they were out of moons that day.

 

I love mine, good investment for sound.

 

If it's in nice condition, with a one piece body (watch for belt marks in the back, and indents rather than scratches) then offer $5-700 tops... they came with gig bags, not a case... If the body is one piece you should have one nice guitar on your hands, otherwise play it first... some sound like farting, some sound like singing.

[santacruzom]

Thanks guys. The owner put a Seymour Duncan Invader in the bridge position. The neck position pickup is stock. How do you guys feel about playing blues on an SG? Forgive my ignorance, but I'm just getting back into playing electric guitar. I primarily play acoustic blues. Thanks.

 

Santa

[ALIEN8]

Replace the pick-ups with Gibson '57 or P-90's and your golden for blues. Not normally a recognized blues guitar, but it does work really well for it.

[rybass]

I owned an 04 faded brown with moon inlays and ebony fretboard. I replaced the pickups with burst bucker 2 and 3s. For the money you can't beat it. It resonated for days, was light as a feather and the blues oozed out of it. In a fit of stupidity I sold it to pay off a credit card a few months back. It had a few scuffs and dings but it fetched $650. Big selling point were the moon inlays and ebony fretboard since they don't make those anymore. The standard dot inlays can be had for $350-$500 on the bay.

 

Play it and if you like it I would snag it. They are a blast. Be sure to play it unplugged for a bit to hear the resonance and dead spots. The electroncs can always be changed but you are stuck with the wood.

 

Good luck!

[slimjimdom]

I have a 2006 model with dot inlays and rosewood. I would prefer the ebony board but it plays and sounds great. It seems every time i pick it up it sounds better and better. You'll want to make sure you have it setup by a good guitar tech though.

[santacruzom]

Thanks to everyone for all the good information. Looks like someone beat me to the SG. The guy says he already has an offer of $650 for it. I told him to keep my in mind if the deal falls through.

[greglawrence]

Going for $575 on eBay

 

2002 Faded Cherry SG

 

Ever since Frank Zappa's Roxy & Elsewhere album, I always wanted one and the "faded" price put it within reach.

 

Yes - Ebony fretboard and limited edition crescent moon inlays.

 

I got mine for $579 new, but had sent the first two back and kept the third one. (Made in 2002)

There were various flaws and fast production boo-boos like finish, scratches, electrical on the first two, but the third one passed the hurdles for what I deemed an affordable 'beat-em-up' jam night axe.

 

Same specs as any other SG without the fine finish, appointments, binding or inlays.

It did come with a pickguard as the newer model faded guitars no longer do, but without covers on the pickups.

The body on mine after close inspection appears to be two pieces.

 

A very bright and 'ringy' guitar when played without an amp.

Some people say the frets can stick out from the edge of the unbound neck and rub against your hand but I have found no problem with this. If your guitar has dried out in low humidity or desert dry conditions, the fretwires might protrude out from the neck/fretboard any guitar if the wood dries and shrinks.

 

Really dig the crescent moon inlays...did I mention that? (lol)

It was a nice surprise to find out it was a limited run.

 

Since then I have acquired a proper Gibson SG case, replaced the tuners with heavy Grovers, added a TP-6 fine tuning tailpiece and most recently swapped the pups out for '57 Classic and a Classic Plus at the bridge.

 

Before, the sound of the stock 490's were a little hollow and ratty. The only amp I found it to be really compatible with was a Tweed Blues Junior. It really liked that amp, but was seemingly a one-trick pony.

Now, with the 57' Classics in it, I find I can take it onstage and it will do more styles with a fuller, meatier tone especially on that neck pickup. Now, a workhorse of many colors!

 

Nice & light, and even though it is the same scale length, the guitar seems "neck-heavy" or feels like it is "sticking out" more because of where it joins to the body. One must be mindful not to slide up a couple of frets when getting acclimated to the ergonomics of an SG -lol.

 

The neck is somewhat wider than most Gibson electric guitars. This is good for some things, and a little more challenging for others. Plenty of room between the strings for clean fingering as well as digging in quite hard while remaining articulate tonally.

 

I still find the 'jack-on-the-front' design really weird if not awkward & cheap, but using a cable with an angled plug will only rub wear spots, and sometimes wonder what it would be like to have an SG with a carved maple top like a Les Paul. I remember Sigma made an SG copy that seemed to be more molded & thicker, not to give the impression I don't dig the flat-top slab or the reduced weight! Compared to the CS-356 or the Les Paul Custom, it's quite light and fun playing.

 

These were some of the last series where the faded finish actually looks kind of nice, cheap albeit, but nice.

The newer model faded finishes look as though horrid white-wash or watery-stain was applied by a blind chimpanzee. The new faded finish looks more 'cheap' than 'faded.'

 

As of January 2014 I have seen "The Crescent Moon SG's" on eBay selling for $550-$585 -some with a hard case.

I expect the price of them to rise significantly in the future adding at least an extra two hundred dollars for the collector's appeal of ebony fretboard and crescent moon inlays limited run...probably ten years down the road.

I just found out the Tim Shaw pickups in my '82 LP are selling for $400 on eBay...yeah, hard to believe it myself.